Will robots, instead of travel agents, plan the vacations of the future?

Online travel agencies and vacation deal websites turn to emerging technology to elevate customer service in the nearly $300 billion U.S. travel market.

With the near-constant bombardment of technology, targeted marketing messages and on-demand services in our daily lives, a whole lot of old-school tasks and interactions and methods of discovering new things about our world have been relegated to the dustbin of history. As technology has connected us, it has also driven us further apart. Nowhere is this more evident than in the booming global travel industry. Whereas once you asked a friend or neighbor for vacation suggestions, now you can peruse eye-popping travel photos on Instagram and book an adventure for yourself.

The other day on the seemingly endless ride between Atlanta and New Orleans, I discovered upon stopping at two gas stations that I was unable to buy a map, which shocked me. On this particular sunny, hot summer afternoon it was more about me wanting to see the lay of the land and how the towns looked on a map than anything. For I was in no danger of getting lost, but on my frequent car rides I often think about the places that time has passed by. Those familiar destinations that dot the country—the amusement parks, the old baseball stadiums, the 1920's resorts, the cabins at the lake—places that entire generations of Americans hopped into the car to go see. That same lost sense of nostalgia applies to those faraway landscapes that made airplane travel a glamorous adventure instead of a frequent hassle...

On this map-less afternoon on Interstate 20 it also caused me to think about the huge disruptive changes in the way that we travel that have taken place over the past decade or so. Why would you need a road atlas when you have a smartphone/ pocket computer/ Siri personal assistant in your pocket?

This same feeling hit me again this morning as I caught a segment on CNBC with Steve Hafner, the CEO of Kayak. Mr. Hafner is certainly regarded as a a travel planning expert and bellwether for the industry, and a guy who has successfully built entire companies out of simplifying the travel booking process—so when he speaks I generally listen. (FYI, prior to co-founding Kayak, he was also instrumental in building Orbitz, which is now owned by the Expedia family of companies.)

In my own travels both here in the U.S. and internationally, I've always found kayak.com to be a helpful resource in pricing flights and weighing options, even though I often book directly with the airline (at least whenever possible). My rationale for doing this is simple: if I have a question while I am direct booking a flight, I can usually get to a live person on the phone—virtually impossible when using an OTA (online travel agency). How many times have you walked away from the computer when you can't find an easy answer?

Studies show it takes the average person more than two hours to search and book travel online, and in one survey by the IBM Institute for Business Value, 20 percent said it took them more than five hours.

The On the Money interview discussed the growing role of A.I. (artificial intelligence) in the travel booking process and the rapid integration of voice technology in their businesses. It's a smart move appropriately geared towards younger Millennial travel consumers who are coming of age during the Facebook Messenger and Snapchat era. Kayak, Expedia and other travel industry leaders are realizing that tapping new customer bases and capturing future revenue now requires them to be available to their buyers 24/7. This means a HUGE investment in developing and acquiring cutting-edge technology in order to book their share of the $35 billion dollar annual online travel booking business.

A study found in the six weeks before actually booking a vacation, prospective travelers visit up to 38 sites. That search can include online travel engines like Kayak, Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline, plus airline, hotel and review sites.

So does this mean that robots will eventually make suggestions to you for your next vacation? Interestingly, they already are. Many popular destinations around the globe are simply so traveled by people from so many places that the sheer size of the visitor base means that some of those trips were suggested by computer algorithms based on your online searches, preferences and interests. The next time you "like" a beach photo that your friend posts on Facebook, don't be surprised that you start seeing advertisements for travel deals at that beachfront hotel in Puerto Rico.

Another industry veteran, Paul English, the co-founder of Kayak, has launched a new travel app called Lola (pictured below), which streamlines available flight and hotel options behind the scenes using this same A.I. integration and simple "chatbot" voice requests—mostly eliminating the stress and confusion of having too many choices. It's a beautiful, minimalist interface that practically guides the user through the experience step-by-step. However the key difference when using Lola is that there is always a human travel agent available on the other end of the phone. As a footnote too, the clever name for the company comes from "LOngitude and LAtitude," two geography terms that are about as old as you can get.

What surprises travel industry analysts is how quickly the volume of online vacation booking is migrating to mobile devices. The deals that you find on those aforementioned OTAs are often marketed to tens of thousands of travel customers around the world at the same time and bundled with additional excursions, transportation or tour guides. Wanderlust has spread to your smartphone, and travel portholes like Kayak know that they can capture both eyeballs and incremental revenue from everyone who visits their website. For all the players in the online travel peer group, the customer service experience begins online and hopefully leads to a sale. And to think just 5 years ago, mobile video was just gaining steam as a core component of the travel industry, initially stymied by lacking bandwidth.

Even Airbnb, one of the biggest business success stories of a generation, recognizes that A.I. will play a role in the future of short-term rentals and travel. They are developing technology to integrate with other "smart home" options at their worldwide roster of properties such as lighting, entertainment and home security. For these innovators at Airbnb, they further recognize that the quality of the experience means not needing or wanting to stare at a screen while you are on vacation.

But fear not travel agents—of which I consider myself a colleague and strong industry supporter—because those discerning travelers around the world still appreciate and spend top dollar for our services. While the brick and mortar travel agency in the small town strip mall is long gone, bespoke travel planners and agencies still cater to those seeking a personalized experience often in far-flung locales or travel opportunities outside of the norm. Time saving guidance, discretion and personal relationships still allow many of us to provide finely tuned experiences. Travel agents also account for nearly two-thirds of the cruise and tour packages sold and a eye-popping three-quarters of all corporate travel business according to Phocuswright, the travel industry's research authority.

Important still for a travel planner is being "plugged in" and staying ahead of travel trends and rising destinations around the globe. For nearly 10 years, I have coordinated corporate travel, special event transportation and complicated logistics, not limited to PGA Championships, family reunion ski vacations, Carribean wedding travel, musician routing and concert tours, train-and-safari trips, you name it...

In my experience, the common thread is that the clients and families that we work with know that help is merely a phone call or text message away. For someone who has missed an international flight or arrived at their destination without their bags, having an advocate who can immediately go to work for you is invaluable. But as a general rule: if you decide to use an agency, ask your travel agent if they are a member of the ASTA (The American Society of Travel Agents) and if they are, rest assured that you will be in good hands.

"Modern travel advisers want you to think of them like a financial adviser or lawyer, with whom you have a long-term relationship," says Matthew Upchurch, chief executive officer of Virtuoso, a luxury network of affiliated travel agencies. "That person understands what you like from what you say about your preferences, from what you say you liked on previous trips and from the questions they ask that you might not have thought of."

"One of the biggest values of a good travel adviser is understanding what's important to you and being able to provide options you hadn't thought of," Upchurch said.

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PHOTO GALLERY: New York Times 52 Places to Go in 2016